DUBLIN AIRPORT IS expecting a record summer for passengers, after announcing 14 new routes serving destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

You’ll now be able to fly direct from Dublin to destinations such as Hong Kong, Beijing and Montreal, as an extra 1.7 million people are expected to pass through the airport this year.

Four new airlines are coming to Dublin – Cathay Pacific, Croatia Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Icelandair.

Here is the list of new routes:

• Marrakesh (Ryanair) – two per week
• Paphos (Ryanair) – two per week
• Philadelphia (Aer Lingus) – seven per week
• Reykjavik (Icelandair) – six per week
• Seattle (Aer Lingus) – four per week
• Manchester (British Airways) – one per week
• Zagreb (Croatia Airlines) – two per week
• Montreal (Air Canada) – four per week
• Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) – four per week
• Beijing (Hainan Airlines) – four per week
• Carlisle (Loganair) – seven per week
• Dalaman (Ryanair ) – one per week
• Frankfurt (Ryanair) – 12 per week
• Luxembourg (Ryanair) – three per week

Almost all of these routes will be operating by June, with the exception of the last three listed which will be running by October.

At its peak during the summer months, 10 airlines will fly 446 flights a week to and from 16 destinations in the US, and four in Canada. The number of seats on North American flights is up 14% on last year, Dublin Airport said, with an extra 391,000.

The trends are also upwards on European routes, with an extra one million seats allocated this summer.

In the first three months of this year, more than six million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport, an increase of 4% on the previous year.

The airport’s managing director Vincent Harrison said that it continues to work with existing and new airlines to provide more choice for consumers.